Tales of raunchy antics on set

ACTOR and entertainer Craig McLachlan has told a court his former co-star used to “goose” him by sticking her fingers between his buttocks and pulling down his pants while on set of The Rocky Horror Show in 2014.

McLachlan also claims Christie Whelan Browne asked to pose in pornographic style photos with him when working on an earlier job.

McLachlan is suing Ms Whelan Browne, the ABC and Fairfax Media for defamation over stories in January 2018 that he says falsely portrayed him as having harassed and bullied female performers in The Rocky Horror Show.

McLachlan, 56, told the NSW Supreme Court trial on Tuesday Ms Whelan Browne asked him to take “quasiporno shots” when they met on a production of Grease in 2005.

He said their relationship was “terrific”, full of “lots of laughs” and the pair got on “fabulously well”.

The court was told that after a performance together, Ms Whelan Browne pulled Mr McLachlan backstage and asked him to take photos with her in “porno-style” positions for her “personal use”.

McLachlan said the pair were “excited” to be doing The Rocky Horror Show together nine years later.

He told the court the atmosphere between the cast was friendly and affectionate, with people constantly hugging, “smacking each other’s bottoms” and sitting on each other’s laps.

He said Ms Whelan Browne was known to be the “goosing queen of the cast”. McLachlan explained “goosing” as a finger or a “couple of fingers poked between the buttocks”.

“I saw her do it, it was one of her regular gags ... she did it to me, to other cast members.”

McLachlan will continue to give evidence on Wednesday.